When 2018 began, there was significant uncertainty surrounding Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) ability to ramp up production of its newest vehicle, the Model 3. The company kicked off 2018 on a disappointing note, announcing it had delivered fewer than 2,000 Model 3s in its fourth quarter of 2017. But Model 3 production and deliveries have since soared, culminating in a record fourth quarter.

Here's a look at some of the key takeaways from Tesla's fourth-quarter update on production and deliveries....

Tesla's record quarter
For its fourth quarter, Tesla produced 86,555 vehicles. Highlighting how soaring Model 3 production has quickly morphed Tesla into a mass-market automaker, this figure was up 252% year over year. In addition, this gives Tesla an annualized production run rate of 346,000 -- an impressive figure considering Tesla was producing vehicles at an annualized rate of about 100,000 units per year just one year earlier.

Deliveries for the quarter came in at a record high of 90,700, up 204% year over year and 8% sequentially.

Of these deliveries, 63,150 were Model 3s. This represents an enormous increase over the 1,542 units Tesla delivered in the year-ago quarter. Model 3 deliveries were also up meaningfully sequentially, rising 13% sequentially. Deliveries were easily in line with management's guidance for Model 3 deliveries to be higher in Q4 than they were in Q3.

Tesla: Growing Faster as It Gets Bigger?
Believe it or not, the electric-car maker's growth is accelerating.

Daniel SparksDaniel Sparks (TMFDanielSparks)
Jan 2, 2019 at 8:06PM
As the Street focuses on Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) slight miss on fourth-quarter Model 3 deliveries and a $2,000 price reduction for all of its vehicle models, it's easy to overlook just how astounding the electric-car maker's growth has been recently. Indeed, Tesla's record fourth-quarter vehicle deliveries put total 2018 deliveries at more than 245,000 units -- up from 103,000 last year.

What's particularly notable about Tesla's recent growth is that the automaker is now growing at a faster rate than it has been in more than four years. Put another way, Tesla's growth rate is accelerating even as the company gets bigger. This impressive trend highlights how integral Tesla's Model 3 production ramp-up is for the company.

Best Wishes!

Mitch

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